NATION & WORLD
Thursday, February 2, 2012 ■ Page 15 Wyo. cites for oil blast that killed three
By MEAD GRUVER Associated Press
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Wyoming
safety regulators have issued 19 citations for an explosion and fi re that killed three workers near an oil well last year, an ex- ample of the trouble that has plagued a state that consistently records some of the nation’s worst workplace fatality rates. The names of reprimanded compa- nies and the amount of any fi nes related to the August blast about 40 miles north- east of Casper will be released after recip- ients have had an opportunity to review the documents, state workplace safety of- fi cials said Jan. 30. Rates of workplace fatalities in Wyo-
ming have ranked among the highest in the U.S. for the past decade, including several years where no other state placed worse. Many of those deaths occur in the state’s booming oil and gas industry. State offi cials emphasize a collabora-
tive approach with industry leaders to address the problem. The approach can mean more em- phasis on voluntary, employer-requested
“The loss of those three men provided a stark reminder that we need to bring Wyoming workers — fathers, mothers, friends and neighbors — home
safely from work.” – Wyoming Governor, Matt Mead
safety inspections over surprise work- place visits by state inspectors, for in- stance. James Turner, Llewellyn Dort and Ge-
rardo Alatorre were killed Aug. 29 while installing pipe between two storage tanks and a device called a “heater treater” that is used to separate oil from water. The explosion triggered a fi re at the remote oil well site operated by Tulsa, Okla.- based Samson Resources on the rolling prairie that burned 10 acres before it was
brought under control. Turner worked for Double D Weld-
ing and Fabrication in Mills. A woman who answered the phone at the company declined to comment Jan. 30. Dort and Alatorre worked for Wild West Con- struction, a Glenrock company without a listed phone number. Samson offi cials did not immediately
return a phone message. State policy prohibits disclosure of
details of workplace safety citations until recipients confi rm that they have received the documents, Wyoming Department of Workforce Services spokeswoman Hayley Douglass said. “The citations are a result of Wyoming
OSHA’s regular enforcement program. Every safety violation within OSHA’s ju- risdiction is taken very seriously and is thoroughly investigated,” Douglass said in a statement. In December, an epidemiologist hired
by the state specifi cally to look into Wy- oming’s workplace safety problem issued a report that said Wyoming employers consistently fail to enforce safety rules while telling their employees to just “get
the job done.” The epidemiologist, Dr. Timothy
Ryan, quit soon after releasing the docu- ment.
Last week, Gov. Matt Mead announced
he was creating three new positions in the state Occupational Safety and Health Administration to help enforce work- place safety rules. He also said he would ask the Wyoming Legislature to fund fi ve more state OSHA consultants. Right now, Wyoming has six employ-
ees to conduct workplace safety inspec- tions or consultations for 23,000 employ- ers, Mead said in a statement. “The loss of those three men provided
a stark reminder that we need to bring Wyoming workers — fathers, mothers, friends and neighbors — home safely from work,” Mead said. “I hope the Legislature supports my
request to strengthen Wyoming OSHA. This is one more step toward making Wyoming a safer place for workers.” The Wyoming state workplace safety
offi ce sent the citations by certifi ed mail Jan. 26.
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